Differences Don't Mean Anything
by Partners-N-Crime
Summary: Annie's just now getting used to her new life on the island. Her goal of a "simple life" is still intact, the only thing different, is she just might change her mind on who will give that to her. AnniexHans
1. A New Life For Annie

"Oi Annie…Annnnniiiieeee….Annie!" I heard the familiar voice of Pepe say my name. I sighed to myself, eyes still closed. _"He'll repeat my name four more times, get angry, hit me, and then pounce on me."_I thought wryly to myself. This scenario has happened so many times in the last month, I could pretty much tell what was going to happen. Now why I didn't move or dodge this fairy's attacks…I still don't know.

"Hey! Annie!"

_One._

"Annie! Get up NOW! I mean it Annie!"

_Two, Three._

"That's it Annie, prepare for the Pepe Dive!"

_Four._I heard the clink of his staff hit the floor and a tiny, but awkwardly heavy, body smash into my resting one. My droopy eyes shot open as I shoved the little fairy off of me. He hit my head as he fell to the floor. I grabbed my throbbing stomach and glared at the tiny fairy. As the pain began to fade, I wiped away sleep from my eyes and let out a big, exaggerated yawn.

"Still not awake yet eh?" Pepe asked me, his voice coated in sweet malice. He cracked his knuckles and then tightened the grip he had on his staff. "Do I need to wake you up more?" A shiver of murderous intent swept sown my spine as I raised my hands in protest.

"No no, see? I'm fine, fine!" I rubbed the bruise on my head from last week. It was still there, and throbbing at the thought of getting whacked again. Pepe smiled and loosened his grip. He shut his right eye and nodded.

"Good. Now, let's start right up into alchemy." Pepe soon went into one of his droning long lectures; I didn't really pay attention. The bug flying all along the ceiling wall was more interesting then this. Well, I guess I haven't really introduced myself yet. I'm Annie: Annie Eilenberg. I was sent to this island by my parents and grandfather because I was so "lazy" and didn't do anything but lay around. I've been here for about a month now, and I guess I'm more accustomed to it. My grandfather was a famous alchemist from here so I guess it's my job to follow in his footsteps. The little chibi lecturing me now is Pepe, a cute fairy about 3ft. 9in. tall that was friends with my grandfather. His age is unknown to me, since every time I ask he changes the subject. So I'm guessing he's old. He's my "master" and is responsible for teaching me alchemy. He wields a giant staff that's taller than me, and he can really pack a punch.

"Annie are you listening to me!" Pepe made that crazed angry face he gets when he's annoyed and hit me on the head. I muttered words of pain as he continued.

"Now that I have your attention, I'll continue." He spat with crossed arms. "Anyway, Hans will be over soon to tell you about you first contest you'll be entered in, along with a good gathering spot to obtain the materials needed. Got that?" I nodded. The gist of our alchemy is to "gather" materials needed, shove them in a pot, and poof, if you do it right, a new material's waiting inside. Unfortunately…I'm not that good yet and I don't usually get what I want. Gathering's pretty simple from what I've heard. I wouldn't no because this is my first gathering trip. From what I've heard, you go on a day or two long trip to a part outside town that holds materials needed; there you just, gather them. The only downfall of it is this island I'm on, Sera Island, is much untamed when you stray from the city. That's why it's good to take a party of people while you gather. You don't want to be attacked my monsters while trying to gather. I heard an exasperated sigh from Pepe.

"You're not listening again, ARE you." I gulped. Shit! Pepe raised his staff up to smack me. The tiny bell that rang when someone entered saved me from being beat to a pulp.

"Hello. Sorry, but is this a bad time?" I turned my head to see the guy named Hans. Hans worked for the Committee, and was also kind of like a tutor to me, only not so much to alchemy, but to the contests and the island. He was stiff, hard headed, had no character, and all around dry. Although he is pretty smart, he has no sense of humor and seems all business to me. He was pretty decent in looks though, I'll give him that. He has dirty blonde hair that seemed to sway to the right. He has soft brown eyes and always wears his white Committee uniform. He is also two years older than me.

"Hans. No your fine, I was just reprimanding Annie here for not listening." Pepe gave him a small nod.

"Not surprising..." Hans said quietly, but loud enough I could hear. I grunted with displeasure.

"So what's the first assignment?" Pepe asked. This contest is a big part of my life right now. Right now, if I understand this right, they're trying to make this island (that's off the coast of the mainland Orde) into a resort for tourism. They want alchemists help. So they designed this contest. Whoever wins gets the honorable title of Meister AND automatically gets engaged to the Prince (or Princess if it is a guy who wins…I'm not sure of her name though, I never paid much attention.) Joel! He's handsome and rich; he could also easily fulfill my dream of marrying up. Just the thought made me giddy.

"Annie, you're not listening again." Hans sighed with his eyes closed. I looked up and focused my whole attention on him.

"I-I'm sorry!" I glanced down at the angry Pepe and knew I would get it later. Hans stared into my eyes and nodded.

"Your first task is to make a Map of the island. You should already have the recipe so it should be easy. You can already gather at the Basin and Quarry also. Please remember it's dangerous and it would be best to take people with you." I nodded in reply.

"You don't have to worry about me Hans!" I smiled.

"I'm not. I'm worried about the people who'll go with you. Having to put up with you for about two or three days. Wow…" He sighed after this sarcastic remark. My mouth puckered as I looked away.

"Meanie." I spat. He ignored me.

"Anyway, here's all the information you'll need. Your deadline is in sixth months. If you need help, just ask." Hans handed me a slip of paper. "Just turn it into me when you're done." I nodded again and waved him bye as he left. Pepe cracked his knuckles again and smacked my head.

"Now, it may seem like you have TONS of time, but you don't. So get started." That's just like Pepe, already cracking the whip. I sighed, this was going to be a long three years...


	2. First Gathering

I left through our shop door and automatically headed towards the Committee HQ. The Knights of Orde were there and I was sure I could get someone to look after me. I walked inside and looked around. I saw Gillian, one of the only girl knights I'd ever seen in the Knights, being lectured by her Captain. Gillian had a habit of slacking off her job…everyday. Her eyes wandered away from the Captain and spotted me. Oh no.

"Annnniiiee!" She yelled my name and ran towards me, glomping me right there in front of everyone. "Oh Annie, I wasn't slacking right? I was helping you gather right?" Gillian yelled loudly. (Play along pleeeaaase) She whispered, her face twisted into a pathetic sob.

(Okay.) I mouthed and sighed. "She's right Captain, and actually, we were getting ready to gather right now." Gillian looked at me funny for a moment until I stomped on her foot, trying to explain it was HER turn to follow along. She kept in her shriek of pain well and recovered with a cough.

"Ahh!-uh-hufhuf…Yup, we're ready to leave now! So I'll uh see you later Captain!" The Captain was easily manipulated and he left out a hesitant "Okay". As we started to walk towards the door, Hans caught my eye. He sat at his desk, working on papers. Although he didn't show it, I could tell he was bored.

"Hey Gillian wait a second, I think I'll invite Hans to come with us." She smiled happily and agreed. I walked over to Hans' desk and leaned over.

"Hey there!" I smiled happily. Hans jumped a bit and almost fell out of his chair.

"Wha-oh. It's you." He sighed and put a hand over his racing heart.

"Whaddya mean "It's me"." I huffed. If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I saw a small smile on that stiff face of his.

"Nothing, nothing, so what did you want?"

"Help me and Gillian gather. It's gotta be better than going though papers all day." Hans sat for a minute and looked down at his papers. After contemplating it for awhile he looked back up at me with a smile. A smile!

"Yes, I think you're right. Are we leaving now?"

"Uh-Y-yes! G-gillian's waiting!" I turned on my heels and began to walk back over to where I'd left Gillian. Did he really just smile at me? I didn't think he could. I figured his face would've cracked and fell apart. He was kinda cute like that though. I stopped in my steps and shook my head back in forth quickly, like it helped get that idea out of my head. _"No Annie, bad. Hans isn't your type after all. Go for the big prize! Prince Joel, right?"_ I calmed myself down and nodded. Besides, all I said was he was a bit cute. I say that to Fitz (this adorable 11 year old girl who works at a restaurant her family owns) all the time, and I defiantly don't like her like that. I took a few more steps forward, my face still looking at my shoes. I smiled a bit, loving how the tassels I put on my shoes swayed when I walked. The only thing I heard next was "Look out!".

I looked up to late to see this creepy guy Daniel pushing this giant cart of books from the library through the Committee at high speed. And I was right in his way. He was short, so I doubted he could see me. I tried to get out of the way, but felt someone grab hold of my body and together, we flung ourselves out of harms way. I hit my head on the floor and grabbed it immediately.

"Ow….ow….ow…wh-what just happened?" I looked up, my vision blurred from fear, my voice shaking for the same reason. I saw Hans lying next to me, grabbing his arm. He glared angrily at me.

"Watch where you're going next time idiot!" He yelled. A mix of emotions flew through me, anger, sadness, happiness to be alive, and a bit of regret. I looked downcast, knowing I'd screwed up.

"I-I'm sorry…Annie. I didn't mean to yell…You…just scared me for a minute that's all. We don't have many doctors in this area. And…uh…it'd be a mess if you'd have been run over." He laughed nervously. I sat stunned for a moment, not knowing how to reply. Gillian ran over to us.

"Oh my GOD are you guys okay? Jeez Hans, I can't decide if that was brave or just stupid."

"I'd call it brave. I didn't see any KNIGHTS jumping to the rescue." He smirked. I sighed. Same old Hans, still sarcastic. Gillian looked to the side nervously and laughed.

"Oh Hans, you're so funny!" She slapped his back, hard enough to make him cringe, and helped me up. "You guys okay? Still up for gathering?" I rubbed my head again and nodded. I'd suffered so many blows up there from Pepe this was considered nothing. I glanced over at Hans who was still holding his arm.

"Hans…? You okay?" I asked sympathetically. His face jolted up from the ground as he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My arms just a bit bruised, that's all." He smiled (another smile!) and helped himself up. "Let's go." I nodded hesitantly and started towards the exit door, this time watching where I was going. I reached out to grab the door handle when it turned on its own.

"Huh?" I made a weird face and started to reach for it again. All I got next was a face full of door.

"Ahh! Did I hit someone!" I heard a girl yell. I rubbed my nose and stumbled back a couple steps. First, I take beatings from Pepe daily, then I almost get slaughterd by a book cart, NOW I get smacked in the face with a door. Damn…this is not my day. I heard snickers of laughter. I turned my head towards Gillian who was silently cracking up. I growled loud enough for her to hear. She looked at me and blushed.

"Sorry Annie, you okay?"

"Today's not my day…" I spat.

"Is it ever?" Hans asked sarcastically. I ignored him. The librarian Melody shut the door and ran over to me.

"Annie! I'm sooo sorry! I-I didn't think there was anyone on the other side of the door! I was preoccupied, I'm sorry!"

"Melody, it's okay, it's okay!" I feigned a smile while my inside self screamed in pain. _"She was probably thinking about her dried squid again…" _I thought to myself. Melody was definitely a weird girl. I glanced at her sorry face again and sighed. Melody was such a nice girl it was hard to be mad at her. Her deep blue eyes and hair were definitely unique. She wore a blue girl's suit and a matching hat. Her face was full of guilt.

"Have you seen Daniel around? He was so eager to help out by getting books for the Committee, he took the wrong cart." Melody asked.

Hans and I grimaced.

"Oh yeah, we saw him. THAT way." We both pointed behind us. Melody did a small bow and apologized once more before running after the trail of Daniel. It wasn't hard. It turned out he left a trail of books behind him that had dropped off the cart. I sighed and looked over at Hans and -wait… Where'd Gillian go? The Purple haired warrior was no where in sight.

"Hans…where'd Gill go?" I asked suspiciously. He looked around quickly and sighed.

"No. Idea. Probably slacking…again." He replied. I somehow knew he was right.

"So I guess it's just you and me then, isn't it?" He asked me. I smirked.

"I guess so. Poor you." I said sarcastically.

"Poor me? Why?"

"Didn't you say something about how you felt sorry who I took with me? Congrats Mister 'cause it's you!" I grinned. His face told me he was going through a recap of this morning. After he finished, he started to laugh dryly.

"I did, you got me. I guess this is my punishment."

"Why you…" I spat fake anger and punched his unhurt arm.

"H-Hey!" He yelled, his face red (I'm guessing from anger?). I smirked.

"Sorry!" I said with fake sincerity. I knew he could tell I didn't really mean it. He looked up at the clock on the wall of the Committee.

"We should get going, or we won't be back from gathering for awhile." I nodded in agreement, and together we walked out the door and started towards my first gathering site: the Basin.

**J: Well…that's chapter 2! ^^ I didn't put any authors notes on the last chapter because I wasn't sure anybody would actually read this, turns out I was wrong ^^; Anyway, sorry about the error in the last chapter about the assignment (I fixed it). I didn't check it before I wrote it and all I remembered was having problems with the Pure Water (I didn't see the recipe was RIGHT in front of me XP ) Anyway, thank you for R&R! It's much appreciated! Bye-bee!**


	3. Roadtrips Suck

We walked for what felt like hours to me.

"Haaaans…" I complained loudly. "Are we there yet?" He let out a heavy sigh.

"Annie." He snapped. "We've barely even made it a mile out of the towns range. To get to the Basin, it'll take at least a day…"

"A-a day? Just WALKING?" I stopped in my tracks as Hans distanced himself from me. He cocked his head to look back at me, but kept walking.

"You're not going anywhere just standing there you know."

"Hmph." My eyes squinted in disgust at him. "Fine, fine."

We walked for at least two hours in silence, just looking at the scenery and enjoying (?) walking in this weather. Our long silence was rudely interrupted after awhile…by my stomach. As it let out a roar, signaling it was ready to beg for food, I stopped in my tracks and covered it with my hands. Hans looked back at me with a look of confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"_Did he seriously not just hear that? I knew he was dense…but still, that was LOUD!"_ I thought to myself. "_And embarrassing…"_ I debated whether I should just come out and say "I'm hungry Hans! Give me food!" or if I should just do the casual "Sneak-food-out-of-Hans-stash" type deal.

I decided to just keep my mouth shut…

And my hands to myself.

We walked a little more ways and soon, the sun began to set. My stomach pains worsened and pretty soon it was getting unbearable. It grumbled again, pretty much telling me how much it hated me; after awhile I thought it might start eating itself. Before I knew it, it was complaining ever five seconds. I covered it with my hands again as I felt heat rise to my face. I must be getting sick or something, no waaaay I'd be embarrassed. It IS just Hans and me.

"Shut up!" I whispered harshly, hoping I'd said it quiet enough only I heard.

"What was that?" Hans asked a hint of anger in his voice.

"E-eh? What was what?" I smiled, throwing my hands behind my back in innocence. Hans looked at me suspiciously for awhile until finally…I couldn't contain my hunger any longer. That last growl in the middle of silence gave it all away.

"A-Annie?" Hans asked with his left eyebrow cocked.

"Y-Yes?" I replied while staring at my feet.

"Exactly how long has this been going on? I knew that noise you said was thunder wasn't."

I gulped. Shit, and I thought he fell for it. Of course, the crystal blue, cloudless sky above WASN'T very convincing.

"Well…"

"I wish you would've said something, I've been kind of hungry to. But I figured if you of all people could last, so could I." The red glow of the setting sun reflected on both our faces. At least…I think that's what made our faces look red. "Do you want to stop and eat now?"

"Yes! Please!" I pleaded, falling to the ground from fatigue.

"A-Annie?" Hans ran towards me.

"I'm good." I said with a face full of dirt. "Let's just eat." I wasn't sure if he understood me, but he seemed to get the idea. After all, talking with a mouth full of dirt and grass muffles ones words a bit.

After a few seconds of a bag ruffling and the sound of wrappings being removed, Hans finally spoke.

"Here. Fitz gave me these awhile back after helping her with something. I hadn't eaten them yet, so let's spilt them. I rolled over on the ground and wiped off my face. Hans sighed.

"Annie, you can't eat like that. Besides you still have dirt on your face." He pointed to a spot on his lower cheek, trying to show where it was on my face.

"…here?" I asked pointing to a spot on my face and rubbing hard. He sighed, looking annoyed.

"No. Here."

"Here?"

"No!"

"Oh…what about here? If I don't get it this time, then I don't care." I huffed. Hans sighed, took a napkin…and took control.

"Hans! Wait, what're you-"he cut me off when he started to wipe off the spot I'd missed.

"There." He sighed. "Honestly Annie…Here, now sit up straight."

I rolled over on my side, my face burning a bit, and disobeyed him.

"Hmph. I don't wanna. I'm comfy."

"Then I'll eat this food myself."

"Wait! Nevermind! I'll get up. Jeez…" I sat up and wiped myself off. Hans nodded in approval.

"Here." He tossed me the bag that had two Kokoron's in it. He'd already taken his. "This should be enough to at least last us the night. The Basin's not far now, but it's home to monsters. It'd be best to camp on the outskirts, and then get there early in the morning so we'll have time to get back."

"Jeez Hans," I scoffed with a mouth full of food. "Don't you ever just, take a break, and stop thinking? All that thinking you do makes you sound like an old man. Plus as much as you frown, you're gonna be an old man, wrinkles and all!"

"Hmph. At least I USE my brain." He retorted with his usual frown.

"Oh! So THAT'S how it's gonna be. **I** was just trying to be helpful and offer friendly advice to you, but since you're gonna be that way, fine. Good-night." I said quickly and rolled over on my side.

"…oh. And thanks for the food." I snapped as I shoved the last piece in my mouth.

"You could've said it more graciously you know." Hans replied with a scoff.

"You could've been less sarcastic."

"You could've kept your comments to yourself."

"…Good. Night." I wiggled over to a nice patch of grass and spread my arms and legs apart, resting under the navy sky above. Stars dotted the midnight blue, lighting up my surroundings just enough I could see Hans who was a few feet from me. He was holding something in his hands; it looked like a cylinder with a button on the side…flashlight maybe? He'd propped himself up on a rock and didn't look the least bit tired. He glanced over at me and I gave him a small smile, even if we'd just had one of our normal "sarcastic-not-really-meaning-anything" types of argument. It was dark enough I couldn't see his face and he probably couldn't see me, but even so he still looked away. I felt a bit hurt, but that's just a way always serious Hans is. A wave of sleepiness washed over me and before I knew it, I'd drifted off into dream land…

**J: Well…this is chapter 3 =] I hope everyone that's reading this has liked it so far ^^; reviews are appreciated, constructive criticism is welcome, and if I made any mistakes in the game play (major mistakes, minor I don't really care about, I plan on switching SOME things up…) or grammatical errors you caught. Oh, and reviews saying "good job" or something are also much appreciated ^^; **


	4. Battle of the Puni!

"Hey Annie get up. It's time to go. I'm not going to tell you again." Hans voice broke through my dreams.

"Wah…?" My eyes fluttered open to see the burning stare of the Sun…and Hans.

"Good. The way Pepe talks about you, he makes it sound like you have to be beaten to death before you wake up." He stood up and stopped leaning over me. I got up and stretched a bit, a grimace plastered on my face.

"That's just HIS way of waking me up." I huffed. "I'm actually an easy person to wake up!" …Okay, even I knew that was a lie. Hans didn't seem to be very convinced either. I let out a nervous giggle and stared at him for a minute. He let out a yawn and a big stretch, while the shadows under his eyes made him more menacing. He looked like he was sleep deprived.

"Hey Hans, did you sleep okay last night? You don't look to good…" I asked, actually a bit concerned for my friend. He jumped a little in surprise and turned to me with a smile I knew was fake.

"Of course I did. The grass out here was really quite satisfying."

"Oh really?" I asked suspiciously and stuck my nose right up against the liars. "Turn around." I commanded.

"Wh-what?" He asked in surprise. I narrowed my eyes.

"Just do it." He looked uneasy as he turned so his back was facing me. I grinned in satisfaction.

"Ha! I knew it! You didn't sleep on any grass! Otherwise your uniform would be all grass stained and dirty!" Hans stiffened up in front of me, and his hands clenched into fists.

"Annie, yours ALWAYS look like that."

My eyes narrowed again as I ignored him. "You…liar! So what DID you do last night? Spill it and I'll forgive you, otherwise I'll be angry at you Hans!" I emptily threatened. He turned to face me and sighed.

"All I was doing was keeping watch. You never know if a monster would come around. I was going to suggest we take turns keeping watch, but you were already asleep and I thought it'd be rude to wake you…" He let out another yawn and started towards the North. "C'mon the Basin's just ahead."

A wave of guiltiness over took me. How could I have been so…selfish? I looked down at my feet in guilt. I couldn't be mad at him for that…I should've thought more about safety then sleep…even if sleep is the best thing in the world…it's definitely not work.

"Annie! Hurry up!" Hans yelled at me, jarring my thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry! Coming!" I yelled back and ran up to him. "So how much farther?" I asked.

"You see that patch of trees up there? That's it." He pointed up ahead. We weren't far. I nodded and before I knew it we were already there.

"Ahh, we're here!" I let out a sigh of relief and stretched. Hans nodded.

"You have the recipe for the Map right?" I looked at him with a smile.

"Yup!"

"G-Good. L-let's start gathering then. I-I'll go over here." He stuttered and ran off towards a good place over by the creek.

"Oh-kay!" I smiled and went over to a spot by a bush. I hummed as I gathered different materials. Pretty soon, we had everything and I was ready to go back and synthesize.

"Hans!" I yelled over to him. He looked up and turned towards me. "I think we're done!" He let out a little smile and nodded.

"Okay! Good. Then today wasn't a total failure. Let's get back so you can finish up." We started towards the exit when out of nowhere; these…blue-ish blobs stopped us in our tracks. There were two of them.

"Woah! What ARE those things?" I asked bending over to see one better.

"Annie! Don't!"

The one closest to me made an angry face and said something like "Puninininini!" And then _slap!_ I stepped back in surprise as I felt a whelp rise on my cheek.

"H-Hans!" I whimpered. "It hit me…" Hans nodded like he knew everything.

"I tried to stop you." He sighed. "They're some of the monsters around this area. It's called a Puni. Don't worry, this type is pretty weak and easy to handle." Hans drew his weapon (it looked like a staff or club or something…) and whacked one of them. It seemed to grow angry and attacked me…again.

"Ow!" I yelled as I took a small amount of damage.

"I don't think so…" Hans spat through gritted teeth. I watched as he whacked it again and this time…it didn't live. The other Puni seemed angry we killed its friend.

"Puninininini!" It yelled and attacked Hans. Hans jumped back and dodged the Puni's attack.

"Nice one Hans!" I yelled over to him with smile. He returned it with a small nod.

"It's your turn Annie!"

"_Crap! He's right! Uhm…weapon…weapon…need weapon…ahhh…"_ I smirked. "This'll do…" I pulled out this giant book I'd got from around the shop. "Hey! Books ARE good for something!" I ran over and hit the Puni. It jumped back a bit…and fled. I leaned down and put my book away. Hans face palmed and sighed.

"Annie, that's NOT what books are for."

Once again, I ignored him and knelt down on my knees.

"Whew…that was a bit scary." I admitted as Hans came closer.

"Are you alright?" He asked with little concern.

"Mmhmm." I nodded and stood. "C'mon let's get back home. I wanna keep working on the think for the contest." Hans nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

**J: Well, first thing I'd like to apologize for not updating in…yeah. Forever. I also wanna apologize for how BORING this story is! DX I'm surprised people are still reading it (THANK YOU!) I'm not really happy with it…so I'm thinking of rewriting these chapters…but I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I KNOW this is kinda a boring story and all, but I have a good plot lined out in my head, so please, stick with me til then you AnniexHans fans ;D**

**(I have a new couple obsession to, Beaux x Annie w I think they'd be so cute~)**


	5. Knocking Down Doors

**A/N: Sorry it's short and sorry for the delay ._.**

Time passed quickly. I passed contests with flying colors (with Pepe and Hans' help of course) and met lots of new people (I wouldn't yet call them…"friends"). …Let's just say there are quite a few…"interesting" people on this island.

I found this thought running through my mind as I lay on my hammock and began to doze. Pepe was occupied with the shop, so I could probably get away with catching a few "Z's". I began to drift off into dream world…when a crude knock…no…bang and _crash_ woke me with a start. I jumped off my hammock and looked around wildly. My door was on the floor. …Why was my door broken and on the floor?

"Why is my door broke?" I spat. The figure that had appeared to have broken it was a mere silhouette since the Sun was behind him. They began to walk in before a _thump_ followed by an "ow!" made them stop. They paused a moment before ducking under and coming in.

"Hello Annie."

"Kilbert," I answered stiffly, still staring at the door he'd broken. He was standing on it. Kilbert saw I was staring underneath him, and he followed my gaze.

"Ahh, sorry. It was just; I couldn't get the blasted door open!" He spat and stomped on it. I cringed.

"Maybe because it was, I dunno, _locked_?" I snapped and stretched a bit. "You _will_ be fixing that, I hope you know."

"You're the alchemist," he pouted.

"And you're the brute who broke my door," I retorted, "now help me at least set it back up so Pepe won't notice."

I heard the shop door click open and a small sigh…before Pepe exploded.

"Um…To late." Kilbert stated sheepishly as he began to slowly back out my non-existent door.

"ANNIE!" Pepe screamed.

"It wasn't me I swear it was-!" I turned to point my finger at Kilbert, but he was already gone.

"What, the WIND did this?"

"No! It was-Oh never mind," I hissed and sat back down on my hammock. "I'll synthesize one later."

Pepe seemed some-what satisfied with this answer and made his way back into the shop (but not before lecturing me until my ears wanted to bleed…). I sighed and fell back on my hammock. Kilbert is Example A of the weird people on this island. Yet…he strangely grows on you…in an awkward kind of sense. No sooner had a sat down, another small rap rang throughout my room. I sighed and sat up, expecting it to be Kilbert again. It wasn't.

It was Hans.

"Hey, Annie," he spoke without emotion (what else is knew?). I gave him a weak smile and sat up, stretching and yawning all the while. Hans's eyes were on the door…that was still on the ground.

"…I won't ask."

"No, you should actually. Really interesting story ya see." I smirked. "Kilbert-"

"Enough said. I understand completely." Hans cut me off. The name "Kilbert" makes most…unexplainable things explainable.

"So what brings you here?" I ask after a moment.

"I was wondering if Beaux had, by chance, been by here," he answered simply. I shook my head no. Hans sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Why?"

It took him a minute to answer. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was embarrassed.

"…He was bugging me back at HQ, so I asked him to run an errand, just to get him away from me…I totally neglected the fact he couldn't find his way out of wet paper bag…I was hoping he'd stop by here and ask you for help…or something."

I shook my head no again, as I tried to hold back a laugh.

"What?" Hans exclaimed as I giggled to myself.

"N-nothing!" I tried to say, but failed. I cracked up. "Hans, I can't believe YOU of all people asked Beaux to run an errand!"

Hans turned his bright red face away from mine and groaned. I smirked and walked over to him.

"It's okay. We all have our days. You just have yours a lot."

"I wouldn't be talking." He retorted sourly. I took offense to that statement.

"Well then!"

For a brief second, Hans cracked a smile, before his expressionless face came back into play.

"Sorry for bothering you Annie. And if you see Hans, tell him to leave the package to Pepe and to not worry about it." Hans turned to leave...before I called out.

"Do you have to go already?" I asked on whim. He turned to me in confusion.

"Huh?"

"I…uh…let's get lunch!"

"Annie, it's 5 in the afternoon."

"…5 in the afternoon snacks!" I answered in a determined tone of voice. His expression softened a bit.

"I guess I can't turn down _that,_" he said in amusement. "Besides, we can look for Beaux along the way."

I grinned and stepped over a door, and out into the bright sunlight. I wasn't sure why, but I liked the idea of spending a bit of time with Hans. He was probably either the most…or least annoying person on the island. I just had to decide which one I really thought he was…

* * *

**A/N: I PROMISE I'LL MAKE THE NEXT CHAPPIE LONGER! DX**


	6. Snacks

Hans and I walked in silence to Fitz's restaurant. Fitz was an adorable little girl who I'd taken to quite easily. She's very mature for her age…sometimes I wish she'd lighten up a little, and just be a kid. There's plenty of time for being mature later.

As we walked we made sure to keep our eyes out for Beaux. Knowing him, he was probably slumped up against the side of some building, starving to death in the process.

"I don't see him anywhere…you think he wandered outside of the city?" I asked Hans with concern.

"I doubt it…I don't think it's humanly possible to get that lost…"

"Hans. We're talking about _Beaux_."

"…Good point."

I used to think that I had a horrible sense of direction…Then I met Beaux. I swear, he has the worst sense of direction. It never ceases to amaze me.

I looked up to see we were almost to the Restaurant.

"Maybe he's inside…or something. You never know. He might have thought Fitz would give him free food." I told Hans as we entered through the door.

"You have a point…" He answered back. We quickly seated ourselves at a table for two and looked around the restaurant.

"I don't see him anywhere…" Hans murmured with a frown.

"Me neither…" I mumbled. (Great.) I thought. (I hope he's alright.)

We were both silent for sometime as we glanced over the menu. It was only when Fitz came to collect our orders that we talked again.

"Hello, may I take your-Oh! Annie! And Hans!" She smiled happily. "What can I get you guys?"

Hans told her what he wanted, as did I. He then handed her money.

"It pays for both of our meals, and your tip." He told Fitz with a friendly smile. Fitz's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a bit.

"Th-Thank you, Hans. Um…" She twiddled her fingers nervously after placing the money in her dress pocket. "…Is this…like a…um…date?"

Hans coughed awkwardly and my eyes widened.

"What?" I squeaked. "That's not it at all!"

But now that I thought about it…it kinda looked like it. Why did that bother me so much? I wasn't sure. All I knew was that I hadn't been this embarrassed in awhile.

"No, it's not, actually. Sorry for the confusion." Hans said, sounding as formal as ever. He didn't even seem to be fazed by it. Out of all of us, Fitz seemed the most embarrassed.

"Ah, I'm really sorry." She did a quick bow before running off to fix our food.

I stared down at my hands that were placed in my lap. We sat in silence, both of us not quite sure what to say…

I felt like I was cut off from the rest of the world… Everything was so silent…

"…We forgot to ask Fitz about Beaux."

I looked up at Hans, confused. I'd almost forgotten why we were here… I laughed nervously and scratched the back of my head innocently.

"Ha, you're right. We'll ask her when she gets back!"

If he could act like nothing wrong just went on…so could I.

I focused my attention on the ceiling above. It calmed me down a bit, not looking at Hans face. For some reason, it made me nervous…especially when he looked back.

I'm such an awkward person…

"So how's your next assignment coming along?"

I gulped.

"Heheh…well…you know…uh…"I stalled best I could, but he saw right through my obvious ploy.

"…You haven't even started, have you?"

I looked back down at my lap.

"…I dunno…Maybe…"

I heard him sigh.

"Annie…" He murmured. After this murmur came a low chuckle. One filled with malicious bitterness…but it was still a laugh. I looked up in surprise. He gave me a small smile back.

"It's been over a year and you haven't changed at all…"

My cheeks felt warm. I wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult...but whatever it was, it was making me feel funny.

"I-I've changed lots!" I defended myself. I slammed a fist dramatically down onto the table for emphasis. Hans smiled again and rested his head against his upright arm.

"Oh really? Examples?"

I paused. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't really changed…and neither had he.

"I-"

"Sorry for your wait!"

I stopped and looked to my right to see Fitz carrying out two plates of food. She set them down in front of us. I noticed she was still acting all embarrassed.

"Please enjoy your food, and thank you for your service."

She was about to run off again when Hans stopped her.

"Fitz, have you seen Beaux anywhere around here?"

She turned back towards us with a confused look on her face.

"Ehm, no, I haven't. Is he missing again?"

"Unfortunately…" Hans grumbled. Fitz sighed with a small frown.

"Doesn't surprise me…Honestly, how can he be so… so… immature?" Fitz placed her hands on her hips and walked off without another word.

"Well, that answers that." Hans sighed. "Well, let's eat. We can worry about Beaux when we're done."

I smiled a little and nodded.

We ate and conversed much like we normally do. We'd get in our little arguments, only to be left laughing about them in the end. It was…nice. I liked spending time like this with Hans. It was…really nice.

After our food was finished, we got up. I noticed the sun was preparing to set soon. The sky was already a very pretty mixture of colors…

As we stepped outside, both Hans and I looked at it with interest.

"Its pretty, isn't it?"

I looked over at Hans. His eyes were directed towards the setting sun, a small smile on his lips. I looked back at the beautiful mixture of oranges, reds, and purples.

"Yeah…It is."

I smiled to. I felt like at that moment, I was beginning to realize something…Although I wasn't quite sure what yet…I knew it dealt with Hans…but that was about all. There was something I was trying to make my mind up on.

"C'mon. Let's get looking for Beaux before it gets to dark. I don't want to leave him out here all night."

I laughed at the thought.

"Yeah…let's…"

* * *

**A/N: … :DDD I'm a terrible person…especially at updating…God…DECEMBER? SERIOUSLY? GAH! –punches self a lot- … ._. I'm sorry. I'll try and do better. I was in a 5 month writing slump =_=" but thanks to Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and The Wallflower, I'm feeling like I'm in the mood to write! :D Sorry if the characters are a little "OOC" … I haven't played the game in awhile, and my friend is still borrowing it. After I get it back and play it a little, and I find out how dreadfully OOC this is (if it is…I'm not quite sure) expect lotsa editing XD **

**Until next time! Which … should be sooner than 7 months…. eeeesh….bye~**

**P.S. I picked up Atelier Rorona the other day :D anyone else played it yet? If so, is it as good as Atelier Annie? :D **


	7. Gentleman or Not?

**Disclaim: I don't own the Atelier series, or in any way shape or form claim too. If I did, there would most definitely be the option of playing as a male alchemist. Because that would be just epic. Yaoi anyone? CX**

* * *

We walked around what felt like the entire town without finding Beaux. It was beginning to feel pointless. He obviously wasn't here. I began to feel increasingly worried, especially when dusk fell.

"Hans…What should we do? Will he be alright?"

Hans stopped a minute to rub his temples. He didn't like how this was turning out, I could tell. I stopped a few feet ahead of him and looked back, waiting for him to follow. I heard him sigh as he caught up with me.

"I'm sure he found shelter somewhere…He'll probably turn up in the morning." Hans told me. I told myself Hans was right and to not worry. Beaux would be fine.

We were just walking past the Weapon shop when Hans suggested we just call it a night. As much as I didn't want to stop, I was tired. I nodded as a small yawn escaped my lips.

"If he doesn't show up in the morning, I'll see if I can gather the Knights to help me search."

"Oh! I could see if the Adventurer Guild will help too."

Hans didn't say anything. He probably didn't think I could do it. I had confidence that I could, even if the Adventurer's weren't very fond of Beaux, for reasons unknown to me. I shivered slightly as the night wind seemed to tear right through me. Alchemist clothes were too thin. I looked up at the starry sky above and smiled. It was so pretty…the sky here. Back on the mainland, I never stayed up late enough to see the stars. I didn't have a desire to. Lately, since I was forcibly moved here, I haven't slept nearly as much as I used to. In fact, I hadn't taken a nap at all today. Maybe that's why I've been left feeling so tired today…

The wind whipped through me again.

And cold. I grimaced and crossed my arms, trying to conserve what warmth I could muster.

"I'll walk you back to your workshop, then be on my way," Hans murmured. "If Pepe gives you a hard time, just tell me and I'll vouch for you. I also recommend starting on your next assignment. If you want to stay ahead of your rival, preparation is crucial." He just kept lecturing, so I just stopped listening. I was more concentrated on keeping warm than anything.

"Your shivering." He pointed out, breaking my train of thought.

"Well, I'm cold. It's natural." I joked. I could see Hans smile slightly. He began to shed his coat.

"Don't tell me you're not cold." I gasped. Was he just rubbing it in by taking off his jacket? What a jerk…

"Here, take it."

I stopped and stared at him. He was holding his coat out, waiting for me to take it. I looked up ahead, my workshop in view.

"Thanks but, no thanks. I'll be okay. You'll need it more than I will." I smiled. Okay, maybe he wasn't a jerk and more of a gentleman. Needless to say, I was pleased by his offer. I felt that warm bubbly feeling grow in my chest, and I couldn't stop smiling. It was kind of creepy, actually. I never felt like this before, and I wasn't sure I liked it.

"Please, I insist." He persisted, holding it out again.

"Nope. Don't want it." I retorted stubbornly and turned away from him, arms still crossed. I knew he was frowning at me right now. I could just feel it.

"Annie." He said more sternly. "I'm…I'm trying to be considerate here. The least you could do was cooperate."

It turned on my heels and smiled a genuine smile. He sighed, but in the dark, I could see the sides of his mouth pull up into a smile.

"Here we are, bickering again. I swear you bring the child out in me."

I laughed and started walking again. He followed and began to put his coat back on again. I wouldn't admit it, but I liked to think he made me more mature than I really was. If anything, he made me feel more mature.

I definitely lacked maturity. I knew this. But, I don't think I'd be me if I didn't. I think even Hans knew this. However, when I was around him, something changed. I grew more childish on the outside, but on the inside, I felt…different. I'm not quite sure how to put it into words… I don't even think I make any sense. I resisted the urge to verbally sigh at all these stupid emotions and thoughts swirling around in my overwhelmed brain. I was so deep in thought, I probably would've tried to walk through the workshop's front door if Han's hadn't announced,

"We're here."

I jumped slightly, coming back into reality. He opened the door for me, and allowed me to walk in first.

"After you," He signaled. I smiled at his gentleman –like attitude again and strolled in the door.

"Ahh-hah!"

Something heavy came down on my head and knocked me to the floor.

"I got-…oh…it was you Annie. I thought you were a monster or something. HEY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!"

I rubbed my head and looked up at an angry Pepe who was rambling on and on. Hans walked in and smirked. I picked myself off the ground and rubbed my head.

"You knew this whole time didn't you?" I growled, feeling a knot start to form on my sensitive head. He merely grinned.

"Sorry we were out so late Pepe. I think Annie took enough punishment for the both of us. I'll be on my way then."

Before I could say anything, Hans exited the room, leaving me to face an angry Pepe. I made a mental note to get back at Han's for this later.

And to think I thought him a gentleman! Don't make me laugh.

* * *

**A/N: just a quickie update thing that wasn't so quick. I really need to go back and play this game so i can have inspiration again. -sigh-**


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